The brother talked about how America incarcerates more people than all of Europe combined. Obama explained in stark terms how the black incarceration rate greatly exceeds the white incarceration rate. He explained how African Americans receive much harsher sentence than whites who commit the same crimes.

Not only did Obama discuss the problem, he put forth concrete proposals to address the problem of mass incarceration. He discussed reducing sentences for non-violent drug offenses. He mentioned how he commuted the sentences of over 40 people. He discussed increasing educational programs and other beneficial programs for people who are in prison. Such programs will reduce the recidivism rate and help transform ex-offenders into productive citizens. He mentioned the need to restore voting rights for ex-offenders.  Obama further discussed how investing more in education and other preventive measures is fiscally responsible. The costs of such measures is much lower than the cost of mass incarceration.

The President’s proposed reforms are crucial. We must make sure that Obama’s speech is not just another speech. We must pressure Congress and the President to actually implement and enact those proposals.

[Originally posted at New Possibilities]

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By now, you’ve probably heard the sordid and bewildering story of world class Decepticon, Rachel Dolezal, explode across your social media timelines. Each day since her cover was blown Rachel’s alternate reality shatters in a million little pieces, as more information is revealed about her real identity. In the event you’ve been luxuriating on a remote island, off the coast of I’ve Got Fancier Shit to Worry About, here’s the gist of the situation: Rachel Dolezal—a white woman, and (now former) president of Spokane Washington’s NAACP chapter—has been living a good chunk of her adult life masquerading (with the help of slightly darker makeup, box braid extensions and Afro-textured wigs) as a biracial woman with a Black father, and reaping the benefits of colorism’s complexion hierarchy.In an elaborate 21^st century minstrel tale that probably makes Vijay Chokalingam envious, Rachel was able to craft a highly derivative life, as if she’d taken her cues from the scripted pages of a psychological thriller.To note, while I acknowledge that racial passing—to include white-to-Black ‘passing‘— isn’t a new concept, and recognize that the politics of race may be a socially constructed idea, and that Black identity is multi-layered and, at times, complicated, it doesn’t negate the fact that race plays a huge part in structural inequality, in the way policies are enacted and resources are distributed, and  isn’t entirely irrelevant. Blackness as culture has merit and history in this country. It’s a thread that’s much more meaningful than a white person being able convincingly mimic a look or affectation. As much as we don’t want race to matter and prefer to write it off as a social construct, the reality is, institutionally and physically, it isn’t.As an obviously Black-American woman, born of two Black-American parents, and who is susceptible to systemic racism, microaggressions, and misogynoir, I believe the conversations and rationalizations swirling around Rachel Dolezal and Blackness have been insincere.
The commentary regarding the pliability of Blackness and accessibility to ‘Black cool’ always seem to be up for debate when it’s centered on a white person, because as usual, whiteness gets to dictate the rules when it comes to the Black lived experience, and always when it suits white people’s needs.
And living life in costume, performing as a biracial woman with a Black faux-parent seemed to suit Rachel Dolezal—a histrionic white woman estranged from her family—really well; because after graduating from Howard University (where she still identified as white and sued the school for anti-white discrimination), Rachel reinvented herself and accessed opportunities not made readily available to qualified Black women, especially those who are darker-skinned.
Before the proverbial 3C wig was snatched off of her head and she was publicly outed by the media,  and her actual parents (who confirmed her heritage as Czech, German and Swedish with faint traces of Native American ancestry) and adopted Black brother, she made a living taking up a lot of space, offering first-hand accounts about experiences that weren’t hers.

The post Consuming The Other: Rachel Dolezal’s Charade Bulldozes Black Womanhood appeared first on Madness & Reality.

By now, you’ve heard of Rachel Dolezal, the white female head of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP who, for years passed off as a black woman who supposedly went through hell  struggling to get to where she is. However, Ernesto Mercer on Facebook has shown how her whole “black” life has been one, not-so-little white lie:

For years she actually said the she was born in a teepee. That her mother was Native American Metis. She claimed & presented a Black man as her father, her adopted Black siblings as children. She claimed her Howard University Masters in Studio Art as a Black badge. She pursued work targeted at increasing diversity, including the position of ombudsman for the police. She has been implicated in sending herself racially harrasing letters. She has been implicated in fabricating threats based on her race. She sought much publicity around those threats. She has claimed to be a survivor of child abuse because of her “mixed race” identity. She has, at least once, insinuated that it is wrong for successful Black men to wed white women. She has hectored Black folks for acting improperly Black. She has led a civil rights organization as a Black woman, when Black racial identity is not a prerequisite for the position. She has, in that position made dubious, damaging, & embarrasing actions centered around that historic organization. She strove to keep whites & Latinos out of BlackLivesMatter because “they” were not Black. She has appropriated Affirmative Action to gain employment from employers that genuinely wanted to employ a Woman of Color. She has existed within a carefully constructed (if ridiculous) onion layered skien of lies for years. Many are thinking that this bizarre episode in Race In America is about picking identity. This is really about appropriation & power. It appears that with cosmetic changes she has disguised herself as a Black & Native American Woman for years, for a purpose. Now that this purpose has been questioned, the identity revealed, her actions as an advocate for Civil Rights, based herself in identity politics must be questioned as well. I first became aware of her in March, of this year, when she alerted the world that the Spokane NAACP was recieving hatemail & the discovery of a “noose” on her property. It appears that these were also lies told by Rachel. The story gets worse by the second.

No kidding.

Dolezal seems to have created this identity where she’s a pro-black, highly liberal black woman for reasons only speculated. And she seemed to have gotten away with it almost with ease until she got caught. Dolezal has virtually made a living appropriating and obtaining a humanity that certain real and actual people have been condemned and even killed for years for having the same humanity they want acknowledged.

There are those who support and(or) find no fault in what Dolezal has done and is still doing. However, you have to ponder on why did she chose to masquerade as a black woman when she could’ve been just a regular white ally? Why did she have to become someone she clearly isn’t when she could’ve been herself? There are only theories, but most of the time, when ‘liberal’ white people, white women especially, interject themselves in movements and struggles conducted and composed of mostly people of color, it’s mostly to position themselves center stage as leaders. They want to fashion themselves as not only among the most liberal, but also the most capable, parading themselves as the voice of the movement.

Dolezal went a step or two further by donning the guise of a black woman who claimed her way to the top from almost nothing. In this case, she became the leader of her local NAACP chapter posing as a black person and she did it successfully for a long time.

There is a lot wrong with it. Dolezal fooled people, a lot of people to get to where she is. She appropriated a culture and lied about her background. Deception is deception even if it was for noble purposes. But this is anything but noble. Dolezal likely created her black identity for her own personal gain. It is why she must be questioned and even criticized.

This must be examined and put a stop to. There is no good that comes from white people trying to be people of color mostly for fame. Dolezal has been playing make-believe long enough. It’s time she dropped the act and learn what it truly means to be black in America. And that does not include playing dress-up.

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This week news of Byron Allen’s 20 Billion dollar lawsuit finally started to leak out.This of course with very predictable results. Since the suit is against Time Warner/Comcast, the story will not see the light of day on mainstream media.

Sycophants, stans and assorted others who (likely) have some vested interest in the outcome have leaped to the defense of Rev. Al, the NAACP and the National Urban League – all named in the lawsuit.

A small few have employed the power of critical thinking and have questions for both sides borne out of the implicit seriousness at the crux of the lawsuit. Systematic discrimination against African American OWNED media companies.

Key word is owned. For those that are extra special a CEO does not OWN the company he is an EMPLOYEE. Some folks get that confused and think if the CEO is of African American descent, its MINORITY owned.

Kinda like the folks who thought the election of an African American President meant that this country is post racial.

I Have Questions

The issues involved in this case are too deep and too profound not to be brought to the forefront and openly discussed debated and ultimately resolved.

There are questions a plenty for both sides..

How MANY actually African American OWNED media companies exist?

How much does AT&T spend on its marketing budget on average per magazine account?

How much money did National Action Network receive as part of the MOU or since the merger with Comcast and NBC?

How much did/does the NAACP and the National Urban League receive ?

What is the membership comprised of in the National Association Of African American Media? What is the organizational structure?

If monies were given to these groups as part of a MOU how much was actually earmarked/utilized towards African American media companies and facilitating access to provide/produce programming?

Deeper Than Deep Throat

There are deeper areas of discussion on this and things that need to be talked about. These deals made with these “groups” where money and sponsor ships are exchanged – but nothing much changes. Where these groups and their peeps benefit but hardly anyone else does. this has been going on since reconstruction – when does it end?

Cronyism is bad in practice but even more egregious within communities that are already at a disadvantage because of the very same thing being done to them by those who hold the purse strings.

Most of the answers can be found easily enough. Probably would lead to more difficult questions that are harder to answer.

Best  place to start when so much money is at stake is exactly there – follow the money trail and while you do observe the responses. There’s that famous book that says something like “You will know them by their fruit”.

Follow the money trail, and use critical thinking….and if you can’t read with comprehension sit this one out.

There’s too much at stake…

The post Byron Allen’s 20 Bilion Dollar Crusade vs. Time Warner & Comcast: I HAVE QUESTIONS appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Just to piggy back on my earlier post about Mitt Romney’s epic fail of speaking at this week’s NAACP National Convention. I wanted to hit on something Chris pointed out on this morning’s show. That would be, the fact that Mitt Romney never mentioned anything about the Voting Rights Act while speaking to the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. As I pointed out earlier, Romney’s weak (and very lazy) attempt to appeal to the African-American vote shows that Romney truly doesn’t have the interest of the black electorate at heart.

Here’s a good discussion on the black vote being taken for-granted:

So here’s the question: is the Voting Rights Act even necessary in our new post-racial age? Of course I have my own opinions on the subject that is the removal of the Voting Rights Act and states having to adhere to federal rules. But, I’m really interested in hearing your thoughts on the subject. I mean, if the rights of voters are not as sacrosanct as once believed and constitutionally supported, then as conspicuous as that may be, why then is there even a need for voting right protections? Seriously, I would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to answer that question.

But before I go, do me a favor and watch the following video from Chris Hayes’ show before attempting to answer the question posited above. Also, before answering the question here’s something to consider: according to the result of a Harvard study that shows how Texas’ changes affect voters presented this week, former President George W. Bush himself would be ineligible to vote in his home state of Texas (read it here). Now I’m not sure if many of us would agree that George would be a great future president. However, I do think we can all agree that he isn’t a minority, and that he is a Republican. Not exactly the target of disenfranchisement; but hey, so too is a retired World war II veterans in Florida who happens to be white, as well.

The post Shouldn’t the Voting Rights Act of 1965 be Obsolete? appeared first on Madness & Reality.

Yes, the long pause and awkward grin was epic; and I’m pretty sure the thought of doing a jig at that very moment crossed his mind. Surely such a move would have been greatly appreciated and applauded by the hankerchief-head-wearing Negroes he had bused in after picking them out at the Rent-A-Negro Store. You know, the ones who aren’t into getting “free stuff,” who obviously have no intentions of voting for “the other guy,” because, they would rather pick cotton for free for Bain Capital in China. Yeah, those black people; the ones who love what they see when they look into Mitt Romney’s heart. Yep, the not-so-secret black folk openly willing to vote for Mitt, unlike his down-low black supporters somebody has obviously lied to him about. C’mon, y’know he made that up, right?

I just wanted to clear that up, just in case you may think all black people look alike, like Mitt Romney obviously does. Which is really funny when you think about it; because, there is no way black folks should vote for a guy who not only doesn’t know where and what bank his money sits; but also a guy who can’t remember lies about where and when he ran Bain Capital when we’re trying to find employment, in this terrible economy. Sorry pal, but I’m not buying your, “I’m the savior of black people,” sales pitch. And I don’t know what black leaders you’ve been talking to — my guess is that you’re confusing Jesse Lee Peterson for Jesse Jackson, because we all look alike — but if you think your speech was a winner, you won’t be back next year — it’s not like Mitt wants our vote.

This from Mother Jones:

Leonard Alkins, the former head of the Boston NAACP, has few fond memories of Romney’s tenure. “There was no relationship between the NAACP in Boston and Gov. Mitt Romney and his administration,” Alkins says. “The only time that the NAACP had any interaction with the administration and the governor was to protest when he eliminated the affirmative action office.”

In one of his early acts as governor, Romneydumped the state’s office of affirmative actionand replaced it with the office of diversity and equal opportunity. In doing so, he invalidated a half-dozen executive orders establishing affirmative action policies for women, minorities, veterans, and people with disabilities; diversity training programs; and equal-opportunity standards for state contractors. Romney’s executive orderreplaced all of this with what was essentially a broad—and, Alkins says, “toothless”—commitment to “diversity.”

Romney didn’t inform civil rights groups about his plans before scrapping the affirmative action office, and the reaction from activists was harsh. The Massachusetts Black Caucus accused Romney of attempting to “virtually dismantle affirmative action in Massachusetts state government.”

Romney eventually appointed a diversity commission to examine his new policy. But, according to Alkins, the NAACP was excluded from the commission—until other commissioners spoke up. “He excluded the NAACP from serving on that special commission until we protested,” Alkins recalls.

Romney appointed Alkins to the commission, but the process didn’t go well. Instead of approving Romney’s policy, the commission worked to strengthen the policies he invalidated. Word leaked to the governor, Alkins says, and the co-chair of the commission, Ruth Bramson, who was also Romney’s chief human resources officer, refused to call any more meetings, thwarting the commission from voting on and issuing final recommendations. Bramson, who is now CEO of the Girl Scouts in eastern Massachusetts, refused to comment, saying she has to stay out of politics. The Romney campaign did not respond to a request for comment. But a Romney spokesman told the Bay State Guardian at the time that Bramson felt the committee’s work was done and no further meetings were necessary.

So, do you think Romney really has the interest of black folk at heart? In his speech this week he spoke of his father marching with civil rights activists in the 1960s. But clearly from a policy position, it’s obvious that he doesn’t give a damn about the well being of black folks or anyone outside of his income bracket. If he did, why then would he propose tax cuts for the rich while raising taxes on the middle class and working poor? But hey, let him tell it, he’s the best thing for black folks since Moses and Joseph Smith delivered us from slavery, Jim Crow, and George W. Bush.

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So this week the NAACP released the results of a recent study which links the Tea Party to several racist orgs and groups in America. Just like I mentioned in that post this week, I expected the information to be met with skepticism, and downright idiocy by some of the people I expected to comment on it (read: wing-nut trolls).

So anyway, not that I’m working overtime trying to prove Tea Party racism because, well, it just doesn’t exist. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring to you my dear right-wing nutjob internet trolls readers, this story out of Houston, Texas, which involves a local Tea Party faction and their acts of intimidation related to voter registration via TPM:
A group trying to register voters in Houston received threats and emails containing racist slurs after being targeted by a local tea party group accusing it of “voter fraud.”

In emails obtained by TPM, the group Houston Votes was accused of being “a bunch of white guilt ridden assholes, NIGGERS and greasy mexican spics,” “fraudulent Marxist pigs,” and “American hating A-holes.”

“We received a couple of threats and several harassing e-mails,” Maureen Haver of Houston Voters told TPMMuckraker. “There have been several efforts, I think, just trying to race-bait and stir racial tension and part of that I think is just based on what we’ve received in messaging from them.”

“It’s really had a chilling effect on our office,” said Haver, adding that one of the e-mails was reported to the FBI.Now of course this is no indication that the entire Tea Party is hell bent on bringing back slavery and Jim Crow laws should they “get their country back.” But as the recent NAACP report (and all the anti-Tea Party posts on this site) pointed out, there is no denying that racist groups and orgs feeds and fuels the Tea Party.

Just in case you think that I’m way off base with this, here’s just a sample of the rhetoric contained in one of the emails from this particular group known as the King Street Patriots (what is it with folks and all these racist emails all of a sudden). A group whose leader at a recent meeting accused the voter registration group, Houston Votes, of being the headquarters of the New Black Panther Party:
“You liberial scumbags should be hung by the neck in public ! We are on to your voter fraud. Keep it up you MOTHER FUCKERS and you will soon be put down for a long dirt nap! Your nothing but a bunch of white guilt ridden assholes, NIGGERS and greasy mexican spics! The WAR is comming and we are going to dispose of each and every one of you while we take OUR (White) nation back.”Now this isn’t actually funny, but I can’t help but to laugh because I’d hate to think that this is what Tea Party members gained as an effective strategy after attending all those “watch out for voter fraud” seminars ran by ex-ACRON employee, and perennial slave-catcher, Anita MonCrieff; remember me telling you about her?

Oh well, it’s pretty obvious that “certain people” will stop at nothing in an attempt to “get their country back.” With that said, though I doubt we’ll ever hear about it in the media. Don’t be surprised to see certain white folks wearing white sheets and pointy hats outside of polling stations burning crosses waving batons.

Way to go protecting democracy!

The post Texas Tea Party Group, King Street Patriots, Under Investigation for Voter Intimidation appeared first on Madness & Reality.

With less than two weeks before the 2010 midterm elections, the NAACP today released a report compiled by the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. Titled ‘Tea Party Nationalism‘, the report analyzes the six factions that make up what is known aand exists under the umbrella of the Tea Party. In the report, links to various white supremacist groups, anti-immigrant organizations, and militias.
Its findings cite that members of groups such as the Council of Conservative Citizens, which opposes all efforts to “mix the races of mankind,” have become involved in tea party chapters, and that posters on the online white nationalist Web site Stormfront.org have written of “inflitrating” tea party events.

The report was issued by the Kansas City, Mo.-based Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, which is funded, in part, by the liberal Firedoll Foundation. The paper was authored by Devin Burghart and Leonard Zeskind, both of whom have written widely about white nationalism.

The more formalized and politically active tea party organizations have made statements repudiating racism; the report focuses primarily on the more diffusely affiliated tea party networks online and in county-level chapters throughout the country. It also singles out five members of various tea party groups, one of whom has been expelled from the movement, as having ties to anti-Semitic, militia or white nationalist groups.

One person highlighted in the report is Roan Garcia-Quintana, a member of ResistNet who served as media spokesman for a 2010 Tax Day Tea Party in South Carolina and is running for state Senate. He has also been active with the Council of Conservative Citizens.  (source)Now of course much of this has been covered and discussed on this site. But I’m just a blogger, and obviously easily dismissed as yet another leftist loon by many who visit this site. I suspect the same sentiment would be easily developed by some after watching the following interview with NAACP President Ben Jealous, and co-author of the report, Leonard Zeskind with Amy Goodman of the program Democracy NOW!

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Remember Shirley Sherrod? You know, that racist black lady who once worked for the USDA who created a stir last week? Well, just when you thought it was over, it looks like the fine folks from over at Doofenshmirtz Evil Inc. (aka the right-wing asshats) aren’t finished with this story.

In an attempt to prove Sherrod to be the racist that she is (and by extension the NAACP), it looks like they’ve decided to drag her husband Charles into the mix by digging up the following video featuring an excerpt of a speech he gave back in January, 2010:

In a piece titled Forty Acres & a Mule — Sherrod Style?, Rosslyn Smith, one of the goof folks over at American Thinker attempts to cast suspicion upon the Sherrods by tying in their $13 million settlement in the Pigford case, to the black power movement.

This would explain the new focus on the words of Charles Sherrod in the above clip. Obviously now that we know the full context of Shirley’s speech, it’s important for you-know-who to try and prove the real grand conspiracy and racist motivational intent of the Sherrods, and people like them:
“We have ideas, inventions, athletic talent, but our labors and our monies and our contracts usually end up in white folks hands and pockets. When will we trust our own? Finally, we must stop the white man and his Uncle Tom from stealing our elections. We must not be afraid to vote black. We must not be afraid to turn a black out who votes against our interests.”I’m sorry, but if the words of Charles Sherrod above – taken in context, or not – appears to be indicative of a racist mind, I’ll have to say that my right-wing buddies are clueless to just what racism is all about. Now mind you, he never said anything about “killing some crackas,” nor is he standing holding one of those infamously racist Tea Party signs as he creams about taking his country back.

However, what he is saying is nothing that any black person has ever said when it comes to the empowerment of African Americans. But I suppose in America the juxtaposition of the word black and empowerment is a tad bit radical and dare I say racist?

What he said is indeed important in the interest of gaining economic equality, as well as building and sustaining wealth throughout the black community. But hey, I guess it’s yet another one of those “black things” that privileged folk just don’t understand.

Not much is said about Charles Sherrod outside of him being the husband of Shirley. But, as noted veteran political journalist Doug Ireland points out in a recent piece titled Charles Sherrod, A Hero Forgotten:
Charlie, who was known as “the soul of the movement in Georgia,”  left SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] when Stokely Carmichael took it over, expelled white folks, and adopted “black power” as its ideology, in order to continue building a black-and-white movement in Georgia. The notion that Charlie’s wife could have been guilty of what’s being called “reverse racism” against whites is therefore douibly ludicrous. Some of us who knew Charlie back when, however, haven’t forgotten his shining example.Charles Sherrod, like his wife Shirley, happens to be one of the many unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Even PBS in their documentary, “This Far By Faith”, paid homage and highlighted his sacrifice and dedication to the movement:
“Sherrod was one of the first to practice the jail-no bail policy, which became a common tactic of the movement. When ten students were arrested for a sit-in in Rock Hill, South Carolina in February of 1961, Sherrod and three others went to Rock Hill, held a sit-in, were arrested, refused bail, and served thirty-day sentences in an attempt to dramatize the injustice of the law.

[…] “Early on, one of SNCC’s areas of focus was southwest Georgia, where Sherrod went in the fall of 1961 at age 22. Two months after arriving in Albany, Georgia, Sherrod and SNCC field workers led a large series of demonstrations that would last for over three difficult years, during which hundreds were arrested. By printing up leaflets, registering voters, and holding seminars on non-violent resistance, they galvanized Albany’s black students to rise up and challenge unjust laws of segregation. Throughout this time, Sherrod and SNCC field workers traveled throughout the surrounding counties to educate and register black voters in southwest Georgia’s rural areas…”It doesn’t sound like Charles Sherrod is quite the radical racist as someone (sorry, I can’t say whether Andrew Breibart is behind this one) is trying to paint him to be. If championing the cause for equality for a marginalized group of people, who just so happened to be black suddenly makes one racist. Then I suppose there are countless people – black & white – who are as guilty as the Sherrods; and you can count me in as one as well.

The post So Shirley Sherrod’s husband Charles Sherrod is the Real Racist of the Family? appeared first on Madness & Reality.

There is one piece of humble advice I will give to the NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous. “Run far and run fast.”

The stagnant, antiquated, civil rights aristocrats who are stuck behind stuffy soirees and still exploit the works of King, Evers, Marshal, and Parks have flatlined. Unfortunately, the NAACP cannot be revived to its former splendor—even with the brilliance, tenacity and cojones of Jealous.

Frankly, the organization’s attempts to upgrade its face with elegant, hip-hop era faces are simple cosmetic changes that will not fix its outdated operations and narrow strategies of challenging the multi-headed monster child of racism.

Recently, the NAACP has lobbied the Obama Administration in terms of jobs for African-Americans. And they have been making great efforts to be a voice in the ears of Obama, especially by siding with the White House’s decision to ouster Shirley Sherrod. Though I made a satirical comment, Sherrod is a great illumination to the disjointedness

Though I hold a regard for Jealous, the explanation of the NAACP being, “snookered by Fox News and Tea Party Activist Andrew Breitbart into believing [Sherrod] had harmed white farmers because of racial bias,” is not an unacceptable answer from an organization that carries a history of stellar scholars and savvy strategists.

Dude, just fall hard on the sword and really make amends other than some rickety public apology.

This is not to throw shade or disrespect for the legacy and work put in by NAACP members. Nor do I underestimate Jealous’ leadership abilities; however, I embrace the beauty of evolution.

The fact is, NAACP’s effective presence has dramatically dwindled around the time the organization’s executive director, Benjamin Chavis, was fired for misappropriating funds and converted to Islam. Though Myrlie Evers-Williams attempted to restore the sagging face of a very old gentleman (that being the NAACP), the NAACP’s post-protest swagger, droops to an unrecognizable gait.

Unfortunately, the NAACP has transformed from a space where freedom fighters pursued rights for the progress of humanity, to a brand that benefits those in certain circles who are seeking financial and political success for certain income brackets.

Ironically, it has become a place of extreme classism by using its fight against racism and class conflict. And some argue that it was a classist entity from the beginning. I side with that argument to a certain degree.

Nevertheless, the NAACP brand today advocates for its survival all in the name of the poor, the underrepresented, the lowly, and all those good biblical references of the downtrodden.

Without a doubt, the NAACP of yesteryear was an institution that moved the social-political climate of the world and was part of historical moments that will never be recreated. But let’s also be clear, it wasn’t the only one in existence and the sole organization to rock this country’s deep-seeded volatile discriminatory actions.

There were a bevy of organizations that the NAACP collaborated with and eventually subsumed that played a part in reaching the agenda of better racial relations and economic equitability in the United States. Most have folded and others are just memories in a history book. Their efficacy has not been erased.

In my opinion, the NAACP has failed in becoming an institution due to its insidious aristocratic ways. This is my critique of most “civil rights era” folk, and their children who reap the rewards of being connected, but haven’t done shit, but pay NAACP tithes.

I cringe when old heads preface their speeches and introductions with “I walked with King.”

To me, it has become profane and an insult to King’s legacy. “So you walked with King, now what the fuck are you doing other than collecting civil rights residuals from his blood?”

The NAACP has become a necessary stopping point for the black, petite bourgeoisie, and black political officials who pass through the organization like a truck stop on the Interstate-10. And if you have ever heard of the reports of what happens at a truck stop, you know what I mean. I lot of whorish-behaviors, criminal deviants, and folk who are in a rush to get to places it takes gurus a lifetime to reach after they have died.

But everyone uses NAACP to get to the top of the food chain.

The truth is you see more thousand dollar suits and crooked-eyed pastors at an NAACP convention than a Protestant convention. To me that can be a little troubling. If you think the Catholic scandals with little boys is disheartening, do an expose on pastors at black churches and the multitudes of black thighs and ass they sop up like grandmother’s Sunday biscuits after 11 AM service.

But I’m digressing.

This is an assessment of someone who has worked closely with NAACP, gone to many of its galas, and also participated in several of their programs. I am speaking from an insider’s perspective.

Those who have dedicated their lives of struggle via the NAACP should be applauded. There were some damn good times. Now it is necessary to use the elder’s wisdom to expand the foundation the NAACP and other organizations laid years ago.

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